writers." When it was published, "a obra foi alvo de polêmica, sendo criticada por parte daqueles que defendiam o colonialismo e simpatizavam com o regime do ditador português António de Oliveira Salazar, e aclamada por aqueles que, portadores de ideias nacionalistas, defendiam a liberdade e a autonomia do país" (the work was the subject of controversy, being criticized by those who defended colonialism and sympathized with the regime of Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, and acclaimed by those who, with nationalist ideas, defended the country's freedom and autonomy). Indeed, it "provoked a storm of outrage among right-wing Portuguese settlers." Honwana was arrested not long after its publication by the colonial authorities. But others "praised him for having captured demotic Mozambican patterns of speech." The original texts of this early debate about the book are available. Abudo Machude published a book in Portuguese about the critical reception of Honwana's book. Nós Matámos o Cão Tinhoso has been translated into English, French, German and Russian, and has been produced in the theatre. Nós Matámos o Cão Tinhoso won first place in the international literary contest of The Classic magazine in South Africa in 1965. Collection's Themes and symbols The Mozambican world is at the center of analysis in each of his narratives. Several of the stories are told from the point of view of children. The innocent and naïve characters are used to expose "the inherent racism in the Portuguese colonial government." Honwana's stories were written for a greater purpose than entertainment and amusement. They "raise questions about social exploration, racial segregation, and class and education distinctions." Each character in every story represents a different social position (white Portuguese man, the assimilated black, the indigenous black, and mixed race). In Lusophone Studies 2, a volume in a series published by University of Bristol, Mark Sabine analyzes the aspects of gender, race, and violence found in Honwana's short stories. According to Sabine, "Focusing almost exclusively on male protagonists and their humiliation and disenfranchisement, Honwana depicts colonial rule as the literal emasculation of Africa" (24). In the stories, the institutional denial of equal human rights to colonized Mozambicans is apparent and linked to the betrayal of an implicit promise based on shared masculine identity: "Men classified as assimilados or civilizados, who have assumed a Portuguese cultural identity on the promise of equal civil rights, might expect equal access to the patriarchal dividend" (29).